Medina Madness

The Marrakech Medina is a crazy place, day or night. Honest confessions of a shopaholic, the two days I spent navigating open marketplace – the souks – were overwhelming and stressful, and yet still adventurous and exciting, all at the same time.

Our day commenced with one goal: exchange dollars for dhirams. When I arrived at the Marrakech airport the night before, the ATMs didn’t have cash and the exchanges were closed. (Very lucky that LEF’s family had already arranged for my transportation, or I would have been hanging out at the airport all night…) Tuesday morning I found myself in the same predicament. Four ATMs and several exchanges later, I still hadn’t been able to obtain dhirams, nor had I been able to exchange my dollars for dhirams. The escapade finally ended a little after lunch (great timing – I was starving!) and I was able to set off into the souks to do some shopping.

Silk scarves, rugs, ceramic pottery, ceramic tajines, essential oils, beanie hats (!!!), leather bags, leather shoes… All for a fraction of the price they would cost in the US and yet still over-priced for someone who is clearly non-Moroccan. The haggling got on my nerves, mostly because the difference of 20 dhiram to the shopkeeper is a lot whereas $2.50 for me is nothing, but I did come away with some really great deals.

To complete our experience in Marrakech, a group of us girls decided to visit a Hammam for a Moroccan spa treatment. What treatment!!! For 350 dhiram (roughly $40) we spent an hour and a half getting scrubbed down with black olive soap, relaxing in a steam room, getting head to toe exfoliation, followed by mud baths and more time in the steam room, all completed with mint tea and relaxing Moroccan massages with essential oils. The few hours we spent in the Hammam were welcome respite from the chaos of the medina.

Between our shopping and spa services, we ate tajines, couscous, fresh figs and peanuts and almonds. We wandered down alleys and played soccer with little boys. We gave our spare change to little girls. We saw snake charmers and turned down the opportunities to pet monkeys and snakes. (In all honesty, I kind of lost it after the guy asked, “Would you like to pet my monkey?”)

On the international level, I do not consider myself to be well-traveled. I therefore did not have expectations of the daily activities and pace of the people of Marrakech. However after spending a few days within the walls of the Medina, I look forward to a return to the chaos, the excitement, and yes, the madness, of Marrakech.